I've never been to a slaughter house

[cjmc]

So, I've never been to a slaughter house & have a few questions about them.

Let's pretend I own a Feedyard in SWKS & I sell 5 pot loads of fat steers to national beef in Dodge City on a live weight basis. Do they get weighted the second they step off the truck & that's the sale weight? Or is right before they are euthanized?

If I sell on the hook I'm assuming they have giant scales attached to the roof that can weight a bunch of carcasses at the same time?

 

[HDRider]

Funny..

 

[frank boucher]

I fed a few loads years ago,and sold live weight.They were weighed at feedyard,usually with a 4% pencil shrink.Don't know about hanging carcass weight,but would guess weighed between kill floor and grading-cooling area?

 

[TCRanch]

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef welcomes visitors and I would assume Cargill and most other slaughter houses would as well. It's worth a phone call &/or visit to find out for sure.

 

[Caustic Burno]

So, I've never been to a slaughter house & have a few questions about them.

Let's pretend I own a Feedyard in SWKS & I sell 5 pot loads of fat steers to national beef in Dodge City on a live weight basis. Do they get weighted the second they step off the truck & that's the sale weight? Or is right before they are euthanized?

If I sell on the hook I'm assuming they have giant scales attached to the roof that can weight a bunch of carcasses at the same time?

Decades ago when I worked in a slaughterhouse the quarters weren’t weighed until graded.

 

[farmerjan]

Funny..

HD, why funny? The only slaughter houses I've ever been to are the small local ones. I wouldn't have a clue what a large commercial one looks like, or how they take in cattle or anything. Not that we ever have potloads to sell; just the few that we sell to locals, usually a whole or a half. We weigh them live and then they give us a hanging weight which is what they charge on for slaughter. So, I was also kinda curious.... and I am not trying to be a smarta$$. Maybe if they are experienced in selling pot loads you would expect them to know these things?

 

[Dave]

The fat cattle sold on the rail are also sold based on a grid. There is a base. I am thinking it is a Choice yield grade #2. Then you go up or down from there. Prime or yield #1 gives you a bonus. Select or yield #4 and the price you recieve goes down. That said I would imagine that somewhere close to grading and it is done on individual animals not on a group.

 

[talltimber]

This is from a former JBS supervisor:
Live weight is determined by weighing loaded trucks in, empty trucks out.
Grid is determined by rail weight in addition to docks and premiums.
No pens are comingled with live weight and grid sold animals.
Every carcass is weighed leaving kill floor en route to cooler whether payment is for live or grid.
The unknown is whether the actual check is cut on the live weight on truck, or they paid at feedlot with a shrink. He wasn't involved in that.

 

[HDRider]

Funny..

HD, why funny? The only slaughter houses I've ever been to are the small local ones. I wouldn't have a clue what a large commercial one looks like, or how they take in cattle or anything. Not that we ever have potloads to sell; just the few that we sell to locals, usually a whole or a half. We weigh them live and then they give us a hanging weight which is what they charge on for slaughter. So, I was also kinda curious.... and I am not trying to be a smarta$$. Maybe if they are experienced in selling pot loads you would expect them to know these things?

This part - If I sell on the hook I'm assuming they have giant scales attached to the roof that can weight a bunch of carcasses at the same time?

 

[farmerjan]

Funny..

HD, why funny? The only slaughter houses I've ever been to are the small local ones. I wouldn't have a clue what a large commercial one looks like, or how they take in cattle or anything. Not that we ever have potloads to sell; just the few that we sell to locals, usually a whole or a half. We weigh them live and then they give us a hanging weight which is what they charge on for slaughter. So, I was also kinda curious.... and I am not trying to be a smarta$$. Maybe if they are experienced in selling pot loads you would expect them to know these things?

This part - If I sell on the hook I'm assuming they have giant scales attached to the roof that can weight a bunch of carcasses at the same time?

Okay. Guess it went over my head......